"How'd ya do THAT" Speech We've all had those moments, that time where we wish we had the wherewithal to perform, make, or complete a task, but we just don't know how. Why do you think they came up with the "Blank" for Dummies book series! Now we'll all get to experience sharing our knowledge of how to do a task with the rest of the class.
Before we get started, there are three important things to remember when choosing your topic, organizing your speech, and presenting your how-to:
First, and I hope this goes without saying, you should know how to do the task your teaching us. You are the master teacher, the expert. Your grade depends largely on how well you can instruct your partner to perform the task.
Second, "keep it simple stupid." Provide the step-by-step process so it can be followed by anyone of with any background knowledge or lack thereof. However, you need to be specific in your instructions so that one who has no background knowledge can follow along.
Third, move it! Your audience will see how easy or how hard it is to perform this task. That being said, you should be prepared to use gestures, facials and body movements to help your assistant without actually doing the task for him/her.
Now, let's get started by seeing some samples first! View these videos and complete the evaluation form for it:
Step one: Choose a topic. Sure, sounds simple, but you need to match what your interests and abilities are to what would interest the audience. It could be as basic as how to make a grilled cheese sandwich and how to set the table to as complex as how to change a flat tire or how to build a go-kart. Whatever your skills are, you MUST relate it to your audience. Need ideas? Check out these sites: TopicsMore topicsEven more topicsYet another topic site Step two: Organize your steps. Don't assume anything! Don't just say "butter your bread". Say "butter one side of the bread only". Be careful of using too few and too many steps. If I hear "how to change a flat tire in three steps", I might be a little leery that something is missing or the steps are too complex. On the flip side, if I hear "how to change a flat tire in 25 steps", I'm not going to even attempt it!
Step three: Decide on your visual aid. You will need to have props/ingredients for your partner to use in the process. However, will you use pictures or video on a Power Point to show us parts of the process as you explain? Gestures are as key as facing your audience and your partner. Will you need to have a "finished product" ahead of time? Make a list of everything you will need for your presentation.
Step four: Filler information... As you are performing your tasks, you should be almost constantly talking to us, adding filler information to talk about consistency of the dough your partner is mixing or how difficult the nut/bolt might be to turn at first. Give us information that will persuade us to go out and try this skill on our own. What makes it fun? What is the history behind what you are trying to teach us? Why should we want to learn this? Are there variations to your recipe or steps that people can add once they're familiar with the process? In other words, answer those "Frequently Asked Questions" before we ask them; troubleshoot any issues we might face if we do this on our own!!! What happens if we don't bend our knees when we're trying the dive? What happens if we don't have a flavoring ingredient that is in the recipe? What happens if we have a leftover bolt after changing the tire? To help you complete Step Four, do a Google history search on your topic. Make a list of "fun facts" about your skill including but not limited to: where the skill originates, who is the most famous for having the skill, fun things to do with your skill, etc. Include the information on the "Working Outline" worksheet and resubmit it to Mrs. Peebles.
Ready to present your speech?WAIT!!!! You need to get your audience's attention first, which can be a very overwhelming task. Look here on ways to introduce your topic to gain your audience's undivided focus on your demonstration. Still need more help? Here's another site with additional attention getting details and examples. With all of these options, you're sure to find one that fits the style that's right for you.
We've all had those moments, that time where we wish we had the wherewithal to perform, make, or complete a task, but we just don't know how. Why do you think they came up with the "Blank" for Dummies book series! Now we'll all get to experience sharing our knowledge of how to do a task with the rest of the class.
Before we get started, there are three important things to remember when choosing your topic, organizing your speech, and presenting your how-to:
Now, let's get started by seeing some samples first!
View these videos and complete the evaluation form for it:
Use this worksheet to help you through the following steps:
Step one: Choose a topic. Sure, sounds simple, but you need to match what your interests and abilities are to what would interest the audience. It could be as basic as how to make a grilled cheese sandwich and how to set the table to as complex as how to change a flat tire or how to build a go-kart. Whatever your skills are, you MUST relate it to your audience. Need ideas? Check out these sites: Topics More topics Even more topics Yet another topic site
Step two: Organize your steps. Don't assume anything! Don't just say "butter your bread". Say "butter one side of the bread only". Be careful of using too few and too many steps. If I hear "how to change a flat tire in three steps", I might be a little leery that something is missing or the steps are too complex. On the flip side, if I hear "how to change a flat tire in 25 steps", I'm not going to even attempt it!
Step three: Decide on your visual aid. You will need to have props/ingredients for your partner to use in the process. However, will you use pictures or video on a Power Point to show us parts of the process as you explain? Gestures are as key as facing your audience and your partner. Will you need to have a "finished product" ahead of time? Make a list of everything you will need for your presentation.
Step four:
Filler information...
As you are performing your tasks, you should be almost constantly talking to us, adding filler information to talk about consistency of the dough your partner is mixing or how difficult the nut/bolt might be to turn at first. Give us information that will persuade us to go out and try this skill on our own. What makes it fun? What is the history behind what you are trying to teach us? Why should we want to learn this? Are there variations to your recipe or steps that people can add once they're familiar with the process? In other words, answer those "Frequently Asked Questions" before we ask them; troubleshoot any issues we might face if we do this on our own!!! What happens if we don't bend our knees when we're trying the dive? What happens if we don't have a flavoring ingredient that is in the recipe? What happens if we have a leftover bolt after changing the tire?
To help you complete Step Four, do a Google history search on your topic. Make a list of "fun facts" about your skill including but not limited to: where the skill originates, who is the most famous for having the skill, fun things to do with your skill, etc. Include the information on the "Working Outline" worksheet and resubmit it to Mrs. Peebles.
Ready to present your speech? WAIT!!!! You need to get your audience's attention first, which can be a very overwhelming task. Look here on ways to introduce your topic to gain your audience's undivided focus on your demonstration. Still need more help? Here's another site with additional attention getting details and examples. With all of these options, you're sure to find one that fits the style that's right for you.
Sample speech:
After your speech:
Demonstration Speech Self Evaluation